Your business website provides a face for your entire organization, playing a vital role in earning a customer's confidence. If your site appears disreputable, customers will take their business elsewhere rather than run the risk of a possible security issue or receiving questionable service. Following a few simple steps can make your website look more trustworthy and prevent any unnecessary business loss.

Include an "About Us" page that contains all pertinent business details. Provide your identity, address, contact information, company history and anything else that could ease a customer's concerns. Think of all the things you'd like to know before giving a business your money.

Establish an email address using your domain name. Operating with an email address from any of the various free email providers makes your business seem like a fly-by-night operation.

Design a site with a professional appearance. That means using an appropriate-sized font, utilizing a pleasing color scheme and avoiding any awkward graphics.

Favor clean, simple page layouts instead of flashier presentations. Cluttered pages can be distracting and make information harder to find. Customers tend to be suspicious of sites with too many bells and whistles.

Check the website copy for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Nothing undermines customer trust more than typos. A misspelled word indicates you don't pay attention to details and may not be reliable when it comes to fulfilling business promises.

Keep advertising to an absolute minimum. While it may help generate extra income, advertising can also make your website seem more concerned with raising revenue than servicing customers. If you must include ads, make certain they don't interfere with the site's operation or page design.

Post any professional certifications or memberships to respected business associations. Making such credentials public can ease a nervous customer's mind.

Link to any off-site reviews. On-site customer testimonials can help, but they lack the weight of legitimate third-party reviews.

Display pictures of you, your key employees and your business offices. Such photos can help create a personal connection with customers, who will be more likely to trust someone they feel they know.

Post an ongoing blog with a comment section. A blog furthers the personal connection, giving the customers a glimpse into the business operations. The comment section also allows for greater interaction between the business and its customers.

Respond to customer questions and comments in a timely, professional manner. Customer service isn't something you can earn with a clever website design, it must be proven consistently over time. But being a responsive business owner will build trust in your brand and in your website.